On April 10th, 2010, students from the International Master in Public Administration (IMPA) program visited Beijing's Pinggu District as part of the field study component. Led by Assistant Professor YIN Chengzhi, the students toured local farmers'houses and experienced first-hand the development of China's new socialist countryside.
Deputy Director of Pinggu District Committee Office SHI Licheng and other local officials met with the students and introduced Pinggu's new socialist village construction in great detail. Relying on its ecological advantage and promoting tourism, Pinggu has been able to greatly develop its rural infrastructure. In 2003, four pilot villages, Jiang Jun Guan, Bo Li Tai, etc. were built and set the standard for future new socialist countryside: "production development, high standard of living, and democratic management." Since then, Pinggu has developed six models of the new socialist village. The 23 folk culture villages employ about 23,000 people in its tourism industry, which has brought about significant changes in the people's way of living.
The IMPA students then discussed issues such as the per capita income of local farms, sources of finance for village construction, agricultural development, etc. with Deputy Direct Shi and the local officials, which allowed the students to gain a deeper understanding of China's reform process.
This field study trip provided a great opportunity for the IMPA students to learn from the process of new socialist countryside construction as well as economic development of Pinggu District.
